Saturday, 7 February 2009

Garrigue - what is it?

Tasting notes of southern french red wines often include the intriguing descriptor 'garrigue'. So, what is it exactly? Garrigue is the name given to the Mediterranean scrubland which is made up of low growing, bushy plants including holm oak, juniper, broom and wild herbs such as rosemary and thyme. In Provence it also includes lavender although I have never seen this in the wild in the Languedoc.

Walking amongst the garrigue on a warm day, crushing herbs underfoot, releases a fabulous aroma of warm thyme and rosemary. When used to describe a wine, garrigue refers to these green herby aromas. It can also be used to describe flavours too although I find it more evocative as a descriptor for aroma.

This land is a vestige of itself. The grapevines were 200 feet high once, when they were fertilized by wild bird flocks. Thus denotes a lot of shade, and now it is more full sun. The fox was 200 feet up looking at a bunch of grapes that were out of reach;This animal would have met with certain death if it missed and fell.

About Me

I am a Master of Wine who is lucky enough to live in the world's biggest vineyard, the Languedoc Roussillon in the South of France. As well as being an enthusiastic taster (and consumer) of the fabulous local wines, I source quality wines from independent domaines for export.